All the major US and Canadian sports leagues are looking to grow their social presence, digital business and fan experience. With these goals in mind it would seem that a marriage between Foursquare and these sports leagues is a no brainer.

It’s odd that Foursquare has not incorporated events into the fold but I would suggest that a partnership with the NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL would be an easy and mutually beneficial place to begin. Let’s me take the perspective of the respective sports leagues and their teams.

The major sports have all been able to grow their business in the digital world through partnerships (e.g. fantasy gaming is huge) and content syndication but none have really been able to take a leadership role in the social space. With the knowledge that social interaction and building upon the passions of sports fans in an effort to connect them to their team in a social manner will ultimately translate into a more one-to-one sales and marketing relationship (see upcoming pieces for the value of Social CRM) and a better customer experience, better feedback loop and opportunities to direct sell, these leagues need to figure out how to do more than have Twitter accounts and Facebook fans. One thing that is clearly working in social media is the idea of “check-ins” and using these check-ins with business discounts driving sales and loyalty programs there is nothing for sports leagues to lose. However I wouldn’t suggest it for just those reasons, they’re obvious enough. Continue Reading…

Rarely does a human being come along that changes a profession, industry or game the way that Michael Jordan did. The man invented the shoe deal, he is the reason you drink Gatorade and if you don’t own Michael Jordan To The Max you really can’t consider yourself a basketball fan. So here is my favorite YouTube video of the weekend that was a YouTube tribute to MJ.

Continue Reading…

USA Today recently reported that the NBA and NHL were both looking into allowing some form of advertisement directly on game (practice) uniforms – see below the post for examples and the various league’s stances

Although this practice has been around for many years in European sports and many sports purists will make their argument from a sports perspective, I thought I would try to give a more economic look at the same issue. I think the thinking behind advertisements on jerseys as a revenue generator is pretty straightforward but I really think that by not having a league-wide policy or making this a league-wide initiative there is a major potential pitfall with respect to corporate naming rights and conflicting jersey advertisements  for all the major sports. Please allow me to explain… Continue Reading…

As Oprah pulled up at the Twitter table last week it seemed like the party was over. There are no shortage of people who declared that the reason to use Twitter was dead now that it was being taken over by celebrities like Aston Kutcher (@aplusk) and the aforementioned Ms. Winfrey.

I guess that is one way you could view the happenings, yet I’m going to ask you take a look at a different group of people (all of whom are celebrities) and I think you will get the sense that while Oprah is undoubtedly like your parents (and why not follow my Dad – @actonroad) chaperoning and then deciding to dance at your prom, if you take the time to follow some of the great athletes that have embraced Twitter you’ll get a totally different view.

I am going to start by saying that I do not really think it’s fair to put Shaq or Lance Armstrong in the same column as Oprah when it comes to their “cool” factor, but I think it is essentially fair if we are just trying to compare celebr-twit to celebri-twit on my invented “this person is autograph worthy” scale. Continue Reading…

You often hear about the marketing machines that professional athletes have become. Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Lebron James and countless others make up a multi-billion dollar a year endorsement industry. These athletes are corporations unto themselves and quite frankly they sound like it when they give interviews. You simply do not hear the biggest names (and as such the ones with both the largest platform and largest endorsement deals) ever say anything controversial or really take issue with what is being said about them.

We do find these same athletes online, but again their websites seem more like corporate brochures than a place that really offers any insight into their real world.  Other athletes will guest blog on ESPN or at their local sports site, but again that is so cleansed that I often wonder if it really isn’t just a PR guy who gets the player to sign off on the post -- if even that. Though I do say that last piece with the caveat that all of the aforementioned athletes (along with countless others) have foundations or charities which they promote online which of course is terrific. Nonetheless I find it extremely refreshing to read and follow athletes that have turned to the Internet in much the same fashion as you or I and let their real personality and feelings come through.

I thought I would give you just a few examples of some athletes worth following online along with a brief notation of just why I find them to be “real”.

Jamal Crawford -- New York Knicks -- The Crawford Files - This is the story that served as the impetus for writing this post.

On Oct. 16, New York Post writer Marc Berman posted a blog titled “Crawford Doesn’t Want Marbury Around,” referring to embattled New York guard Stephon Marbury. According to Crawford, the story wasn’t true.

Crawford said he confronted Berman and told him, “Well, now I’m going to have to write about you on my blog.”

He wrote: “In typical Berman fashion after he writes something like this, he doesn’t come (to practice) the next day”…LOL. And Berman is actually a good guy, but I guess he needed something to write.”

Crawford’s blog entry drew dozens of online comments from readers, many commented on the role reversal of athletes blogging about writers. “I would’ve had that built-up frustration,” said Crawford of how blogging helps him to vent. “It was fun to get it off my chest. “I thought it was a great idea instead of just doing an interview. (Berman) writes so I can write as well. Some of my teammates thought it was cool.”

Chris Bosh (Twitter)  - Toronto Raptors -- CB4 - If you have not seen the YouTube sensation that is Chris Bosh, there are so many videos you just must see. Chris and Baron Davis are even having a contest to see who can put up the funniest clip online.

In the video below Chris makes his bid for your votes to the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Bosh is an NBA superstar there is no doubt of that and he has the marketing deals to go with it, but his personality shines online.

Dontrelle Willis -- Florida Marlins -- Dontrelle Willis writes at Yardbarker which is a corporately funded sports blog site run along the same lines as Digg. He seems to write semi-regularly and his posts have a nice fun quick hitting style.

Alex Merricks -- New York Mets Prospect - This is one of my favorite blogs. Do not be scared off by the fact that it looks like (and is) the home of his management company, there are some really good stories here and there are a few other players that blog at the same site.

Serena Williams -- Tennis Star - Serena’s site looks a little corporate but she lends her voice from time to time and she’s outside the basketball scope.